BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — In previous price guides, we've discussed many booster packs that, while intriguing in one way, have fallen short in multiple different facets — including a disappointing story (Prophecy), a difficult gameplay format (Champions of Kamigawa), or a severely underwhelming collection of cards (Fallen Empires, Homelands). This makes the next three booster packs a treat for those looking for a break from this negative reception. The Ravnica Block serves as the perfect example of a collection that is beloved for every reason under the sun, and has so many moving parts that it will result in an entire series of extra-long columns. For some time, the Plane of Ravnica was just like any other, and featured multiple cities spread across a wide mass of land. Over time, they expanded and merged enough to transform the entire world into one massive metropolis. This facade of civilization did little to stop the frequent centuries-long war between groups, however, and the streets were frequently home to brutal battles between factions. Eventually, the ten major groups collectively realized that their fights would only lead to destruction — and at a grand summit, one leader (a Sphinx named Azor I) suggested casting a massive, "living" spell across the Plane that would end the violence while keeping each sect alive. The other nine agreed, and this led to the creation of the Guildpact: A massive enchantment that prevents each organization from disrupting the power balance between them. This resulted in a massive surge of prosperity and relative harmony across the world, though aggressive disputes still break out from time to time. The ten factions would later go on to become known as Guilds, and their influence on Ravnica has only grown over time. While about half of the Plane's population is still unaligned with any particular Guild, interaction with them is unavoidable, and their presence cannot be ignored even if one tries. As such, before delving into the set itself, it's important to get a basic understanding of each group, as well as the new Magic Keyword that was introduced alongside them — beginning with the first four introduced in this week's price guide. The Boros Legion: The Boros Legion serves as both the police force and standing army of Ravnica, and its members believe strongly in protecting their community by any means possible, even if doing so involves copious amounts of violence. As the self-proclaimed arbiters of righteous justice, the Legion's soldiers are efficient, disciplined, and truly passionate about justice regardless of their rank, to the point where they deem anything that may disrupt, obstruct, or violate the current laws (or in layman's terms, anything the Boros disagree with) as an enemy. This makes them feel more like a disciplined group of thugs than any respectable law group to some guilds — especially when one remembers that an entirely different group makes the laws they follow. The Legion's penchant for group warfare is exemplified by Radiance, their first unique mechanic. Any card targeted with a Radiance spell shares its effects with every other card of the same color, which can potentially result in massive boards or impressive destruction spells (casting Incite Hysteria on a Green Creature, for instance, stops all Green Creatures from blocking). Ideally, the Keyword was meant to support Red and White decks that stick to only one or two colors, while brutally punishing others for using the same synergy in different ways. Despite this intriguing idea, Radiance was fairly unpopular with both players and designers: The "every Creature" aspect often means that one could easily hurt themselves as much as their opponents (especially in mirror matches against the same colors) when casting spells, and the actual effects were reportedly headaches to design and process at play tables. When this fact is combined with the fact that it does a poor job of representing the Boros philosophy of discipline and unity, it comes as no surprise that the skill has since fallen to the wayside while other guild Keywords (including Battalion and Mentor, which would represent Boros in later Ravnica-based sets) have become fan favorites. House Dimir: While most guilds are proud to show off their power through exquisite strongholds and massive forces, House Dimir prefers to take a different approach to city domination. Originally believed to have been a fairy tale, the Guildpact outed members of the group as information brokers — namely librarians, archivists, and reporters. Unfortunately for those who would underestimate them, this is simply a mask to hide their true nature: The higher-ranking members of the guild are brokers of more than just knowledge, and dabble in everything from smuggling to assassinations behind closed doors while manipulating public awareness for their own needs. As only the lowest-ranking members of the Dimir are known to the public, their true reach is impossible to fully predict, and the use of memory-altering magic, hidden messages, and spirit or zombie agents ensures that no resident of Ravnica is beyond their grasp. The first Dimir Keyword is Transmute, which, unlike most mechanics, activates in the player's hand: Rather than cast a spell, they can instead discard it and pay the Transmute cost to add another card of the same Mana cost to their hand, thus filling the Graveyard and allowing one to get the specific cards they need in any situation. While constructing an entire deck around the ability is somewhat difficult, cards with Transmute do see play as makeshift tutors in many Blue/Black decks— notably in the form of Dimir House Guard and Muddle the Mixture, which serve as both useful Transmute tutors and fairly strong cards on their own merit. The Selesnya Conclave: The Selesnya Conclave bills itself as a pacifistic faction concerned with preserving Ravnica's history and focusing on the collective good over individual gain. Members of the group will often promote themselves as selfless, caring, and highly spiritual, and their living spaces (which consist mainly of sunny, green gardens and open-air buildings) put forward the concept of a peace-loving, environmentalist commune. In truth, however, the organization is far more malicious and controlling than it seems, to the point where many see it more as a cult than anything else. The group believes they are speakers for a being known as Mat'Selesnya, the embodiment of Nature itself, and that the best way to spread its influence is by suppressing individual voices — thus making them devoted followers and tools for the Conclave to use. Gaming: MTG supports Extra Life with special Secret Lair As one would expect from a guild of this nature, the Selesnya's first signature mechanic, Convoke, rewards the concept of strength in numbers: each Creature tapped to cast a Convoke spell removes a colorless Mana from its cost, allowing a player who can quickly amass an army to cheat out stronger spells through group efforts (tapping three Creatures while casting Root-Kin Ally, for example, would reduce its cost to three Mana total). Although Dredge may be the most notorious Keyword in the set, Convoke tends to see the most play thanks to a surprising number of useful cards for multiple strategies, with City on Fire, Hour of Reckoning, and especially Chord of Calling serving as prime examples. The Golgari Swarm: The Golgari Swarm is the largest guild on Ravnica, and represents the perpetual loop of life and death. Naturally, its members embrace the cycle with open arms, and constantly increase their numbers and territory by regrowing the dead as plant zombies. Much like the Selesnya Conclave, the Golgari seem to act as a single hive mind — but who exactly is in control of it shifts frequently, as multiple different factions within the Swarm with their own agendas are constantly vying for control. Despite their extremely negative reputation among most guilds, the group still serves an important role in Ravnica's infrastructure: In addition to resettling destroyed areas and removing the dead from city streets, they are surprisingly benevolent to the poor and downtrodden, often supplying lower-class areas with cheap, nutrient-rich gruel from their many farms (which, according to citizens, is surprisingly good if one doesn't think about how it was made). The Golgari way is represented by Dredge, a Keyword that allows a player to recycle assets in the Graveyard by giving up a potential draw and sending cards from their deck there instead (if a player would draw a card while Golgari Grave-Troll is in their Graveyard, for instance, they could instead mill the top six cards of their deck to return Grave-Troll to their hand). This effectively allows a player to constantly recycle their old resources at the cost of new ones, while stuffing a Graveyard full of other options that can be brought back with Green and Black staples like Eternal Witness or Reanimate. Despite its strange and seemingly risky nature, Dredge would eventually go on to become far more dangerous than anyone would have expected when combined with the game's other mechanics, especially those focused on reanimation. In addition to the recursive nature of the ability rendering wars of attrition nearly impossible, rapidly filling the Graveyard with valuable cards and then reviving them allows one to bypass Mana costs, and the lack of a "once per turn" clause can enable a player to repeat the process ad nauseam, thus opening the door to even more milling and filling. While the Keyword will never return to standard play, it is still used to great effect in the Vintage and Legacy formats, and serves as the driving force behind Gitrog Dredge, one of Commander's most complicated and powerful decks. This immense potential is more than enough to secure its place as the strongest ability to emerge from the Ten Guilds — if not one of the most powerful Keywords ever printed. With such a large collection of factions, it only makes sense that there would be an intriguing story to connect them, and the three novels in the Ravnica block do just that by telling the tale of Argus Kos: An officer in the Boros Legion who is traumatized by the death of his ally Zunich. After seeing the man's ghost, Kos is led to an alley and finds a little girl dead at the hands of a Goblin. When he tails the creature to a bar, it explodes, killing his current partner Bell and Saint Bayul (a high-ranking member of the Selesnya Conclave). To make matters worse, Bayu's bodyguard (who went missing after the blast) was none other than Fonn Zunich, the daughter of his original teammate. Luckily, Fonn is still alive, and has been taken to a safehouse by Jarad — a Golgari hunter sent on a mission by his sister, the high priestess Savra (who is also revealed to be behind the blast). Back in the Guild's headquarters, Savra has taken the opportunity to assume full control of the Swarm, and seems to be doing so at the behest of a mysterious figure. Jarad and Fonn decide to work together, and while fending off Golgari zombies, discover that some of them are wormlike shapeshifters in disguise. Kos, meanwhile, attempts to leave the hospital to resume his investigation, but is suspended after a fight with his superior. It is here that he is visited by an unexpected guest: the ghost of Bell, who intends to haunt Kos until his death has been avenged. Bell reveals that he never actually went to the restaurant where the Goblin exploded, claiming that he stayed with the dead girl and was killed there. Intrigued by this twist and determined to help her ally, Feather (an angel who was bound and forced to live among lower-ranked Boros) helps break Kos out of the care facility. Both investigations lead to a restaurant, where Kos and Jarad encounter an informant. The man reveals that he originally sold the Goblin to the quietmen: Ghostly warriors who typically conduct dirty work for the Selesnya Conclave. Almost immediately, these creatures lay siege to the building, forcing the heroes to retreat back to Wojek Headquarters. Unfortunately, this is far from the only catastrophe taking place around the Plane: Golgari forces are attacking the Boros in the first open conflict since the Guildpact's signing. While this should force the other guilds to intervene, they are all seemingly entranced by the quietmen and being herded to Vitu-Ghazi, a massive tree known as the Conclave's main base of operations. Gaming: Secret Lair Showcase: Camp Totally Safe As they arrive, Kos and his party learn that Bayul is still alive, albeit very close to death. With his final words, the cleric explains that the non-Dryad members of the Selesnya ruling body (the Chorus) are all connected to it through gems on their foreheads, and that Savra wanted his gem to assume control of the Conclave in addition to the Swarm. Fonn takes his gem to keep it safe, but the scene is quickly interrupted when several Boros members transform into shapeshifters and attack. During the struggle, Fonn is kidnapped, and the rest of the group (including Feather) give chase. It is here that Savra's plan is truly revealed: Through underhanded dealings, she has slowly been filling the tree's roots with corruption, and creating quietmen to blend in with the Conclave's. When the Selesnyans asked her to help cure the tree, she leveraged their arrangement to become a member of the Chorus once a position opened up — and now that she has Bayul's gem, she can control two guilds at once. Now that her victory is close at hand, Savra's mysterious ally (and the one behind the shapeshifters) is revealed to be Szadek: The leader of the Dimir, who many believed was simply a myth. After briefly thanking the Elf for releasing him, he promptly snaps her neck, thus killing her and all the Dryads in the Conclave. He then takes control of the quietmen and uses them to tear a hole in Vitu-Ghazi, where the real Mat'Selesnya is located. Her dormant form powers the Guildpact, and draining her energy would break the spell over all of Ravnica. As Szadek begins to feed off of the entity, Kos and his team arrive to turn the tide of battle: Jarad uses Savra's staff to take control of the shapeshifters, who dogpile the Dimir leader. Fonn, meanwhile, retrieves Bayul's forehead gem, and places it on her wolf companion — which somehow reawakens the Dryads. In response to their presence, Mat'Selesnya emits a powerful wave of energy that destroys the worm creatures and reduces Szadek to a near-death state, which allows Kos to arrest him without issue. In the day following this chaos, change has come to multiple facets of Ravnica: Borca's ghost has moved on, Szadek has been "taken care of," Jarad now leads the Golgari, and Kos has decided to leave the police force. At the tail end of the story, the body of the little girl who started the conflict unexpectedly comes to life in the coroner's office — revealing that she was another Dimir shapeshifter all along in the process. This suggests there is far more to this story than meets the eye, and perhaps the entire situation has been planned from the start... While the entirety of Kamigawa is generally viewed as a low point in Magic history and was widely forgotten over time, Ravnica is the exact opposite, and was quickly deemed a fan favorite thanks to its sprawling city setting and thematic factions — all of which are backed by a large selection of cards that would later go on to become staples of Commander format (including Sunforger and the first four "Signet" Mana Rocks). Naturally, this would lead to multiple returns to Ravnica over the game's history, and to this day, all of MTG's two-color combinations are still referred to by the Guilds that represent them. It is important to note, however, that theming and popularity are only half of what makes an excellent Magic set — but fortunately for City of Guilds, this pack excels in both the flavor and function aspects thanks to a wide selection of powerful and pricey cards. In this week's gaming price guide, we've used data from card pricing site MTGGoldfish to discover some of Ravnica's most valuable offerings. Gaming: The five most expensive cards from Champions of Kamigawa #5: Dark Confidant On multiple occasions, Magic: The Gathering has rewarded some of its best players with the opportunity to design a card in their likeness. Outside of the unique nature of these special guest entries, their unique abilities often allow them to become valuable and effective staples in Magic decks of all sorts (perfect examples include Solemn Simulacrum, Sylvan Safekeeper, and Snapcaster Mage). Dark Confidant, the Ravnica Block's entry into this collection, was designed in honor of 2004 Invitational Championship winner Robert "Bob" Maher, also known as "The Great One" — and lives up to his name by serving as one of the set's most impressive and valuable cards. Dark Confidant essentially provides a player with an extra draw every turn in exchange for a small amount of Life. Although the Creature is far less effective than a card like Necropotence (which only costs 1 Life per "draw" and can be used multiple times), its cheap Mana cost allows it to hit the field quickly, and begin to provide essential hand advantage very early into the game. While this is naturally a strong effect for anyone in need of extra cards, it can be made even stronger when combined with cards that grow stronger as one loses life (especially Rowan, Scion of War, who will always be able to reduce spell costs after paying for Confidant). One would be hard-pressed to find a deck that does not benefit from this small wonder in some way, and naturally, this amounts to the card attaining a high market value. #4: Cloudstone Curio Most of the cards in the Ravnica Block are themed to at least one of its ten guilds, but not every aspect of the Plane falls under their sway. Before the Guildpact was signed, massive beasts known as the Nephilim ruled over the area — and even now, relics of a time before the cityscape can still be found from time to time. One of these is a strange statue known as the Cloudstone Curio, and while its origins and purpose may be unknown from a lore standpoint, its power is certainly enough to make it stand out from most guild-based fare. At first glance, Cloudstone Curio's effect may seem like more of a hindrance than a boon (as bouncing a Permanent forces its owner to recast it), but this concern quickly fades away when one remembers how many cards have incredible effects upon entering or leaving the battlefield Although the most popular variant of this strategy (which combined Curio with the now-banned Dockside Extortionist) can no longer be used, the Artifact can still be combined with a host of other offerings — including Creatures like Imperial Recruiter or Wood Elves for constant searching, playing and then bouncing cards with Vanishing to reset their counters, or going infinite by enabling endless low-level summons with Aluren. This utility and the card's Colorless nature allow it to act as a combination piece in plenty of decks, which more than earns it a respectable price on the secondary market. #3: Breath of Fury Red in Magic is commonly associated with recklessness, passion, and making risky decisions without any regard for their own safety— and while this is best seen in cards like Last Chance and Gamble, the color also boasts a variety of spells that allow players to launch multiple attacks in the same turn. Although Breath of Fury is far from the first card to have such an effect (its predecessor Aggravated Assault was printed in Onslaught), it sets itself apart from other similar spells by combination potential alone, making it an excellent and pricey addition to any aggressive Red deck. Gaming: the five most expensive cards from Saviors of Kamigawa If a Creature enchanted with Breath of Fury manages to strike an enemy, it is sacrificed, but allows the rest of its allies to immediately fight again. When used alongside a massive army, the spell can effectively grant a player multiple combat steps and triggers that activate during battle — but its real strength lies in its combination potential, as pairing this effect with any number of cards that create extra minions (including Splinter Twin, Helm of the Host, Goblin Rabblemaster, Loyal Apprentice, Urabrask's Forge, and many others) can result in infinite attacks. Unfortunately, the fact that it requires damage to connect and slowly chips away at one's resources makes it somewhat less reliable than a card like Aggravated Assault or Moraug, Fury of Akoum in Red strategies without these combination pieces. Despite this, Breath's impressive potential and lack of reprints are more than enough to warrant a space on this week's price guide. #2: The Four Shock Lands (Various) Much like any other Magic set that features multiple different factions, each of the ten guilds has a unique domain that can be brought to the battlefield. Ravnica, however, takes this concept to an entirely different level by introducing three different Land cycles that all focus on empowering their respective factions: each guild features a "Headquarters" that uses its two colors to activate powerful effects, a common Dual Land that bounces another to provide both colors at once, and a middle ground set that taps for one of either color. Although the first two categories have their uses in Commander format, members of the final cycle — known as the "Shock Lands" — have achieved a surprising reputation as some of the game's greatest Mana sources, and continue to be highly sought-after in any multicolor deck. The popularity of these Lands is mostly due to their ability to quickly provide Mana of either color and enter untapped with a very minor cost (2 Life akin to the "Shock" spell, hence their name) which places them above other Dual Lands in terms of accessibility (the only "drawback-free" versions of this effect are the original Duals from Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised). It is worth noting that each one also shares the same Land types of their colors, which means they can be chosen as targets for common tutor effects (Overgrown Tomb, for example, is considered a Forest, and can be searched by Nature's Lore, Windswept Heath, or any card with Forestcycling). The constant need for a strong Mana base naturally leads to above-average price tags, and every single one of these entries could fit on this list — but it should be noted that Sacred Foundry in particular stands out even among the rest with a value of $23.36, a large increase from the average price of $15-17. #1: Doubling Season When one thinks of Magic Staples in Commander format, they commonly think of cheap, efficient cards that can fit into any deck — but as anyone familiar with other TCGs can tell you, some of the game's best and priciest cards can also fit into the idea of a staple. In Magic, this is represented by cards like Rhystic Study, Cyclonic Rift, Demonic Tutor, and Smothering Tithe: All of which cost over $30, yet appear in at least 25% of all constructed decks on EDHRec. Doubling Season may not be the most popular example of an expensive staple, but if its price and reputation are anything to go by, it certainly deserves its place at the top of this week's list. Doubling Season is widely considered to be one of the greatest modern Magic cards to have ever been printed, and it's easy to see why: The ability to duplicate almost any kind of Counter or Token is useful in several different strategies, and can be used in everything from standard +1/+1 Counter or Token Creature decks to more unusual fare like Food Tokens, Treasure, and even "Superfriends" builds focused entirely around Planeswalkers. While there have been multiple attempts in recent years to create a similar "token doubler" card with limits (such as fellow high-cost staples Parallel Lives, Anointed Procession, and Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider), none have achieved the same level of infamy as the Ravnica Block's standout Enchantment — and despite a surprisingly high number of reprints, it remains a high-ticket item to this day. Gaming: the five most expensive cards from Betrayers of Kamigawa This week's column is already longer than most, but there is still far more in this city than one can see in a single set. In our next gaming price guide, we'll be delving deeper into the underbelly of Ravnica by discussing the next entry in this Block — including new guilds, new Keywords, and of course, plenty of valuable cards to uncover. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW